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Despite some downsides, including a high price, the Bose QuietComfort 20 offers the best noise-canceling in an in-ear headphone and should tempt frequent travelers looking for a more compact alternative to a full-size NC headphone, such as the Bose QuietComfort 15.

Many in-ears can hush the high-pitched noises of the world, but the QC20i can handle the booming roars of a train crashing down its tracks. For that reason, the QC20i seems well worth its weighty price.

Our hands-on...also revealed just how meaty the playback the Bose QC 20 buds are capable of. We listened to a large variety of music, from The Who, Seasick Steve, Maroon 5 (yeah, we know), and Jimi Hendrix and they shared several things in common. Nothing was lost and bass response was excellent.

Our hands-on, or ears-on we should say, also revealed just how meaty the playback the Bose QC 20 buds are capable of...Nothing was lost and bass response was excellent...we're initially impressed, especially with the noise cancellation doing such a great job to boot.

I travel quite a lot and bought these Bose QuietComfort 20i with a view to replace my devoted QuietComfort 3. The noise cancellation, especially when flying, is really impressive. Sound is very good too even if I would have preferred a bit more bass, the level is below the QC 3. The comfort is...

The earphones perform surprisingly well for specific types of noise. Air circulating in office buildings, running water and rain, road noise, engine noise, etc. I have been using it on the bus for my commute and at work and in those settings I'm really impressed. One concern is battery life. The...

I previously owned QC3 headphones, but they are not really small for travelling and put them inside a laptop case, specially since I own a MacBook Air. I purchased the QC20i back in October 2013 and I used them most days at the office; noise cancellation is impressive given how small they are....

Bose and noise cancellation are pretty much synonymous. Those earbuds are pretty expensive but I honestly think if I had to have only one pair of headphones, this would be it. The sound is great, and noise cancellation is pretty much the same as its bigger brothers. The ear tips are really...

I travel a lot on planes. And have been using NC headphones for years. The over the ear ones get too hot after a few hours and if you fall asleep and lay on your side the feedback can shock you. While int he ear ones just are never as long term comfortable as I'd like. These though are...